Chapter Three: Tresspassing


Her caretaker had never taken her into the city, so Mabel couldn't help but be distracted by every little thing she came across. She had never seen paintings of people, or seen some of the fruits that the world had to offer. She had been hidden away for so long, that even with the vendors who were not giving the poor girl the time of day, Mabel was still having a blast.

"Poor thing, you're going to freeze!" One woman stopped Mabel, though was more interested in Waddles who was sleeping in her sweater still. "Trade you the pig for a blanket?"

"He's not for sale." Mabel crossed her arms protectively over Waddles, who woke up long enough to give a noise of agreement and promptly fall back asleep.

The woman huffed at her, and turned away. Mabel didn't have any money to buy anything on her own, but if she did she still would have walked away from the woman. Though she was getting hungry, Mabel wasn't willing to go steal anything from people who were working hard.

" Got anything to eat in there ? I'm starving." She asked Waddles quietly, who finally seemed done with sleeping in order to raise his head from her sweater.

The pig sniffed the air for a moment before squealing loudly, jumping out of her sweater and landing in the snow. The pig shook off the white powder, taking off like a rocket and leaving Mabel to scurry after him before someone saw him and decided to make a meal out ofhim.

"Waddles!" Mabel hissed as she fell in the snow, picking herself up.

They had run into what looked like a courtyard, with an old abandoned palace standing before them. It must have been the one that belonged to the Pines they had been overthrown. Waddles was scratching at the boarded up door, his body just small enough to squeeze his way through the slats and go tumbling into the abandoned property.

"Waddles, no! This isn't our house!" Mabel pulled on the boards, feeling the rotting wood easily give way underneath her palms. It was quick work, and soon enough she had a gap large enough for her to go through, and the castle was open to her.

It was grand. She had to arch her neck to see the ceiling, and that was just in the hallway. Mabel could see gold and silver decorations that had tarnished over with age, boards on the floor threatening to splinter underneath her weight. She could just hear Waddles down the hall, having gone down the stairs that were spiraling down into a master ballroom. It was open, it was invitin g. It felt familiar.

The grand chandelier had fallen, into a pile of dust and broken glass in the middle of the floor. In some places on the floor, she could see dark stains that spoke of the things that had happened there , but Mabel could see so easily what this place had looked like under the rule of a king. Grand parties, people dancing to merry tunes, she could almost see it, as though it was happening right before her.

"On the wind, 'cross the sea." Mabel chimed softly, voice almost holding a melody that she couldn't quite remember. "Sing this song and remember. Soon you'll be home with me, once upon a December."

She spun around as though she was dancing , voices and laughter sounding in her mind as though it was right there with her. Waddles snorted softly from where he watched her, still exploring the room as she looked around at the ceiling that was too high for her to make out the details and walked around the fallen chandelier.

"Hey!" A voice boomed through the ballroom, making her feet stumble in a missed step to a dance that she didn't quite recall . Waddles squealed in fright, bolting over to her. "What are you doing in here?"

She was trespassing in a palace, an abandoned one at that, but still trespassing. Mabel looked up the stairs at the blond man who leaned over rotting wood down at her, and took a deep breath before making her decision. She bolted, Waddles running after her and now two men following after her.

"Hey! Stop running!" Mabel scrambled up the stairs, feeling some boards completely collapse underneath her weight as the footsteps got closer. "We're not the police!"

Mabel let herself pause at the words as she reached the top of the stairs, huffing slightly as she stared at what looked to be a once fine painting of the royal family. She was at eye level with the young children who were depicted, each of them staring ahead while holding hands. It made her a bit sad to see, for some reason.

"Geeze, kid, relax. What are you doing in here?" The blond asked, the black haired man behind him looking more like a bodyguard than anything else. Mabel harumphed, still staring at the painting before she finally turned around.

"Look, I didn't know anyone was in here, Waddles ran in so I ran in after him. And I'm not a kid! I think I'm older than you." She gestured down at the pig who was hiding behind her legs, peeking out from around her at the blond. "What are you doing in here?"

"Don't turn this around on us, missy." The blond waved a finger at her for a moment, finally glancing back behind her and seeming to pause.

The man glanced at her for a second, then at the painting, and Mabel looked back at the painting to see nothing there but the painting of a fallen family. The blond nudged his friend, and together they suddenly seemed interested in evaluating her.

"Well, miss...what was your name again?" The friend of the blond asked. Mabel crossed her arms stubbornly. "Mine's Tad."

"Mabel." She eventually muttered. It just seemed to make the two men happier.

"Well, Mabel, you know you bare a striking resemblance to a certain lost princess?" The blond who had yet to identify himself said, coming closer, only to get snapped at by Waddles, who was quite protective . Mabel gently praised the pig.

"That one? Didn't she die? " She gestured over her shoulder at the painting, in what she hoped was the general direction of the girl. Mabel had heard the stories, but who hadn't? Everyone knew about the fall, and no doubt people would always want to know about it.

"That one, but there's one very important person who believes that she's still alive, and he's the only one that matters anyways. " The blond said. "Have you ever wanted to go to Paris?"

"Paris?" Mabel didn't even bother to hide her excitement. "Actually, yeah, I have. Why? Are you planning something?"

"She even holds herself like a princess …" The blond mused to Tad, who nodded. Mabel huffed slightly, just about done with these two men.

"I'm Bill." The blond finally introduced himself. "You see, the old man of the castle, Stanley, lived through that fateful night, but he claims that his niece, the princess, survived!"

"Everyone knows that story, can you get on with it?" Waddles made a noise as if he wanted to be picked up, and Mabel obliged without question. She even went as far as to tap her foot impatiently as she waited for her explanation.

"Well, he's giving a reward to anyone who can bring his niece to him. It doesn't even have to be her! He just likes that little bit of hope." Bill was standing before her now, a knowing smile on his lips as he saw her consider the offer. "You get a free trip to Paris, an old man gets a chance at finding his niece. Do you have family?"

Mabel shook her head, looking between the two men who just seemed to want to make money, and Mabel wanted to go to Paris. What was wrong with that? An old man would get closer to finding his niece, she would finally be able to silence that nagging need inside of her to go to Paris.

"He won't get mad if I'm not his family right? I mean I'm an orphan, but I don't really want to build up his hopes just to tear them down." Mabel looked up at the painting, seeing two old men with smiles on their faces as they stared ahead. "That one's Stanley, right?"

She pointed at the old man wearing a red crown, knowing it was right in her heart despite never seeing the man before. She reasoned that she had a fifty fifty chance of getting the right one anyways.

" That is him, actually. He won't get mad, he just wants to find his niece, and you just might be her. You do really look like her." Bill threw his arm around her, only frowning for a moment before he put back on his bright smile.

"I guess it won't hurt to go and see him. So you take me to Paris, and all I have to do is go and see that guy to see if he recognizes me?" Mabel looked at Bill, ignoring Tad for a little bit, but he didn't seem to mind.

"He could really be your family, Mabel. You look like her, you already act like a princess, you share her name. It won't hurt to go and see him, won't it?" Bill asked instead. "We can leave for Paris tomorrow, if you just say yes."

She glanced between the two men, then back at the painting that stood tall despite small tears and fraying and fading from the light. They were waiting for the decision of a woman who didn't have anything to her name, except for that name. A name which might have actually been given to her, not just purely a coincidence from just happening to look like a lost princess.

"Do you think she lived, that night?" Mabel asked Bill, turning from the girl that actually seemed to have the same color eyes as her. Bill leaned back on his heels, holding his hands behind his back as he considered the question.

"...I do. I do think she lived that night." He eventually said after a moment. "It doesn't really matter what I think, does it? Do you want to go to Paris?"

She looked back at him for a moment, looking at him instead of the painting, and nodded. He beamed, placing an arm around her shoulder but removed it when Waddles gave him a glare.

"To Paris!"